Vaani Kapoor and Fawad Khan’s Abir Gulaal is finally coming on screens with their compelling love story and chemistry. It hopes to sweep everyone off their feet when it opens in cinemas around the globe on August 29, 2025. However, the audience in India will not see this because of ongoing diplomatic tussles between India and Pakistan due to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Aarti S Bagdi directed this Indo-Pak collaboration that has gone through rough patches, yet it promises a soul-stirring love and healing tale across 75 countries.
Abir Gulaal: A Controversial Journey to Release
Initially set for a May 9, 2025, Indian release, Abir Gulaal found itself engulfed in its own storm of controversy soon after the attack on Pahalgam. An outpouring of rage against Pakistani artists, led by organisations like the All Indian Cine Workers Association and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, resulted in the ban of the film in India. The ban controversy further ignited after Operation Sindoor, making it a hot topic, subsequently derailing the film’s release in India.
Abir Gulaab’s Strategic Global Release
The filmmakers are going ahead, despite the ban for India, instead, they have gone with a global release, strategy similar to Diljit Dosanjh’s Sardaar Ji 3, which skipped India but was a total success abroad. Abir Gulaal will be shown in countries such as the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and it will be distributed in the UK by Indian Stories Limited.
The movie’s music, grandly launched in Dubai, receiving initial appreciation but was abruptly halted after the attack, and Saregama withdrew all circulation of the entire soundtrack.
Voices Amid the Backlash
Both Vaani Kapoor and co-star Ridhi Dogra have spoken up regarding the controversy that surrounded the film. While Vaani asked for less toxicity, speaking out for artistic freedom, Ridhi defended herself by claiming that it was shot when India- Pakistan relations were cordial.
Abir Gulaal, which features top actors like Lisa Haydon and Farida Jalal, covers a fiery romance between two wounded souls, and promises high emotion and universal appeal, even though the path has been bumpy.
